Red Velvet Pancakes

Make breakfast more colorful and sweet with Red Velvet Pancakes! This homemade pancake recipe is drizzled with a cream cheese glaze and perfect for weekends, holidays or even breakfast for dinner.

 

Why Red Velvet Pancakes

You might be wondering what are red velvet pancakes? They’re a breakfast twist on the classic Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting… and they’re wonderfully sweet and decadent.

These pancakes are definitely more cake than your traditional pancake, and that makes them perfect for a special occasion!

Red velvet is a mild flavored chocolate cake that once turned red due to the ingredients it used (Beets). As you can see from our chocolate beet cake, the result is not the brilliant red we associate with red velvet.

Nowadays, we use red food coloring to give these pancakes (and it’s cake counterpart) a brilliant red color. It’s now been incorporated into cupcakes, brownies, cookies and more!

Fun fact: Bakers used to (and still sometimes!) use boiled beets to add red colors to their baked goods! 

Why You’ll Love These Red Velvet Pancakes

Fluffy pancake full of cocoa flavor and topped with a sweet glaze- what’s not to love!

• Great for Making Ahead – These easy pancakes can be refrigerated or stored so that you have them ready for quick morning meals or to feed a crowd for brunch. 
• The perfect holiday breakfast – Due to their iconic red color, these pancakes are perfect for Christmas morning.
• Crowd-Pleasing – There’s maybe no more comforting way to start the day than digging a fork into a stack of steamy, warm pancakes slathered with butter and drizzled with maple syrup. Almost everyone loves them! 

Red Velvet Pancake Ingredients

Homemade pancakes are so simple to make, and you’ve probably got the majority of these ingredients in your pantry and fridge right now.

• Flour – All purpose flour is perfect here. Check the variations section below for using gluten free flour.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – We don’t want to use Dutch process cocoa, so make sure to read the label. The recipe also has sugar, so no added sugar is needed.
• Granulated sugar – White sugar will give the pancakes just the right amount of sweetness. If you’re looking to cut down on sugar, you can replace it with your preferred alternative sweetener.
• Baking powder – This is used as the leavening agent that helps the pancakes to rise and become fluffy.
• Salt – I personally prefer fine sea salt but if you’re in a pinch you can substitute table salt or kosher salt.
• Whole milk – Though you can use another milk if that’s what you’ve got on hand! We’ve made these beauties with cashew milk before, and they were equally delightful.
• White vinegar – We need some acidity in order to form the bubbles needed to make these pancakes fluffy. Vinegar does just that.
• Eggs – Always assume a recipe is calling for large eggs. These will act as a binder to hold everything together.
• Vanilla extract – While the flavor of these pancakes is technically chocolate, vanilla will add a little warmth to the pancakes.
• Red food coloring – If you don’t like using food coloring, check the section below for some alternative options to turning your pancakes red.
• Unflavored oil – Use something like vegetable oil or avocado oil. This is just for greasing the skillet so that the pancakes don’t stick.

Pancake Toppings & Syrup

I like to top these homemade red velvet pancakes with a cream cheese glaze, as well as some fresh fruit, mint and sprinkles as a garnish. To make the glaze, you’ll need a few ingredients, too.

• Cream cheese
• Powdered sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla extract

While the glaze and garnishes aren’t necessarily something you have to have to make these pancakes, they take them to another level and don’t really require much extra time.

Other types of fresh fruit, cranberry syrup, vanilla syrup or even maple cream are other good options.

How to Make Red Velvet Pancakes

These pancakes are very similar to other homemade pancake recipes because they require several of the same ingredients and the same technique, too! However, there are a few additional things added to these pancakes to make ‘em red velvet.

1. Dry ingredients. First, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until combined.
2. Wet ingredients. Next, measure the milk, vinegar, eggs, vanilla extract, red food coloring and oil into a medium bowl. Using a fork, stir together until combined. You want to make sure the egg yolk and white are mixed well because you don’t want stray pieces of egg white in your pancakes. 
3. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold them together until just combined. The batter doesn’t need to be smooth, and be careful not to overmix.
4. Prepare skillet. Once the batter has been mixed, heat a nonstick skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Brush the pan with melted butter or unflavored cooking spray, and let it warm up.
5. Add batter to skillet. Use a cookie scoop or a measuring cup to dollop the red velvet pancakes onto the preheated skillet or hot griddle when ready.
6. Flip and repeat. When several bubbles form on the surface, flip and cook through for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat until all of the batter has been made into pancakes.

Pro tip: When you flip your pancake, don’t press down on it! If you do this, it’ll lose the air that helps make it fluffy.

Cream Cheese Glaze

While the pancakes cook, mix the cream cheese glaze, too! Put the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract in the base of your food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Voila! That’s it!

Stack the cooked pancakes onto plates. Serve with the cream cheese glaze and a garnish of fresh strawberries, mint leaves or even festive sprinkles.

Tips For the Best Red Velvet Pancakes

There are a few tips that will help to ensure you get the best pancakes every time.

• Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. It’s important to get the eggs incorporated into the other wet ingredients so you don’t have stray bits of egg white in your pancakes. Also, this will help you not overmix the batter once combined and will ensure that the red color is consistent throughout your pancakes.
• Don’t overmix the pancake batter! Lumps are OK in this batter—we just want the ingredients incorporated so you can pour them onto the griddle.
• Speaking of: A griddle is an excellent tool to be able to make more than one pancake at a time! If you’re pancake people like we are, I highly suggest investing in one!

Food Coloring

Not all food colorings are the same! I used the liquid kind from the grocery store—and I advise purchasing a jar of the red by itself because this recipe requires a lot.

You can use gel food coloring if that’s what you have on hand, and you won’t need nearly as much. I advise staying away from the natural food coloring because they will not yield the same brilliant color of pancakes as you see in these photos.

The natural food dye I tested, which gets its color from beets and other veggies, made for a purplish pancake instead.

Variations

There are plenty of ways you can make these red velvet pancakes your own.

• Flour – For gluten-free pancakes, try using a blend like Bob’s Red Mill which incorporates xanthan gum. Or, substitute cake flour for the all-purpose flour.
• Fruit – Mix in strawberries, raspberries, bananas, or any fruit that you enjoy in pancakes.
• Chocolate – Make a decadent breakfast by transforming these into chocolate chip pancakes. Just fold in milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips. 
• Nuts – Give the pancakes some crunchiness with the addition of chopped pecans, walnuts, or peanuts.
• Extracts – Add extra flavor to the pancakes by using vanilla extract or your own favorite flavored extracts. 
• Color – Add a different color of food coloring. Green Velvet Pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day, Blue Velvet Pancakes for July 4^th, pink velvet for Valentine’s Day… the possibilities are endless!

Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing

These red velvet pancakes can be easily stored so you can reheat them throughout the week for an easy breakfast. Or you can make breakfast for dinner!

Make ahead: Avoid making the batter ahead of time — your pancakes will not be fluffy. Instead, make the pancakes, and then refrigerate or freeze them and just reheat when you’re ready to serve them. Or, you can mix the dry ingredients together and store them in a mason jar so that you always have pancake mix ready to make — who needs a box mix? 

Storage: Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 3 days. They can be reheated on a griddle or skillet at low to medium-low heat or in a toaster. 

Freezing: Freeze cooked pancakes in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper or wax paper between them so that they do not stick together and so that they can be removed individually if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Homemade Pancake Recipes

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